Intentions to Marry, 1903 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840424, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 10 2025.

1903 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 256

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1903 Registrar J. C. Williams

Date of Notice

Names and Surnames of Parties

BDM Match

Condition

Calling or Profession

Age

Dwelling Place

Length of Residence

Marriage Place

Folio

Consent

Date of Certificate

Officiating Minister

26 January 1903

John Lomas
Emily Eleanor Elman

John Lomas
Emily Ellman
💍 1903/969

Widower
Spinster

Surveyor, Factories
Dressmaker

54
36

Christchurch
St Albans

9 Years
36 Years

Wesleyan Church, Papanui Road, St Albans

03/1018

26 January 1903

Rev. W. G. Parsons, Wesleyan

No	40
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Lomas	Emily Eleanor Elman
BDM Match (82%)	John Lomas	Emily Ellman
	💍 1903/969
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Surveyor, Factories	Dressmaker
Age	54	36
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St Albans
Length of Residence	9 Years	36 Years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Papanui Road, St Albans
Folio	03/1018
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. G. Parsons, Wesleyan

26 January 1903

John Hepburn
Mary Ann Bradshaw

John Hepburn
Mary Ann Bradshaw
💍 1903/1696

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

23
23

Christchurch
Christchurch

23 Years
23 Years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/924

26 January 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	41
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Hepburn	Mary Ann Bradshaw
	💍 1903/1696
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	23	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	23 Years	23 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/924
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

26 January 1903

John Softley
Eleanor Oliver

John Gofton
Elizabeth Oliver
💍 1903/1077

Bachelor
Spinster

Turner
Machinist

31
32

Woolston
Woolston

11 Months
20 Years

House of J. R. Griffin, Harman Street, Sydenham

03/1067

26 January 1903

Rev. J. R. Griffin, Wesleyan

No	42
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Softley	Eleanor Oliver
BDM Match (65%)	John Gofton	Elizabeth Oliver
	💍 1903/1077
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Turner	Machinist
Age	31	32
Dwelling Place	Woolston	Woolston
Length of Residence	11 Months	20 Years
Marriage Place	House of J. R. Griffin, Harman Street, Sydenham
Folio	03/1067
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Griffin, Wesleyan

26 January 1903

Peter Scrimgeour
Bertha Louisa Sophia Rogers

Peter Scrimgeour
Bessie Louie Sophia Rogers
💍 1903/1078

Bachelor
Spinster

Moulder

27
25

Sydenham
Sydenham

25 Years
12 Years

Esperance Hall, Colombo Street, Sydenham

03/1050

26 January 1903

Rev. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

No	43
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Peter Scrimgeour	Bertha Louisa Sophia Rogers
BDM Match (89%)	Peter Scrimgeour	Bessie Louie Sophia Rogers
	💍 1903/1078
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Moulder
Age	27	25
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	25 Years	12 Years
Marriage Place	Esperance Hall, Colombo Street, Sydenham
Folio	03/1050
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

26 January 1903

Charles Steere
Louisa Hall

Charles Steere
Louisa Hall
💍 1903/1689

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk

35
30

Linwood
Sydenham

35 Years
30 Years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/923

26 January 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	44
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Steere	Louisa Hall
	💍 1903/1689
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk
Age	35	30
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Sydenham
Length of Residence	35 Years	30 Years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/923
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

27 January 1903

Frederick Davidson
Ellen Tulley

Bachelor
Spinster

Saw Miller
Teacher

39
31

Christchurch
Riccarton

3 Days
31 Years

St Peter's, Riccarton

03/1481

27 January 1903

Rev. W. J. Wills, Anglican

No	45
Date of Notice	27 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Davidson	Ellen Tulley
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saw Miller	Teacher
Age	39	31
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Riccarton
Length of Residence	3 Days	31 Years
Marriage Place	St Peter's, Riccarton
Folio	03/1481
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Wills, Anglican

27 January 1903

William Thomas Burridge
Mary Macfarlane Craig

William Thomas Burridge
Mary MacFarlane Craig
💍 1903/3130

Bachelor
Spinster

Pastry Cook

24
19

Christchurch
Christchurch

18 Months
19 Years

House of Mr. Craig, Canterbury Street, Christchurch

03/1024

Eliza Cameron, Mother

27 January 1903

Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

No	46
Date of Notice	27 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Thomas Burridge	Mary Macfarlane Craig
BDM Match (98%)	William Thomas Burridge	Mary MacFarlane Craig
	💍 1903/3130
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Pastry Cook
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	18 Months	19 Years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Craig, Canterbury Street, Christchurch
Folio	03/1024
Consent	Eliza Cameron, Mother
Date of Certificate	27 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian

27 January 1903

Percival Cliff
Alice Priscilla Bader

Percival Cliff
Alice Priscilla Baker
💍 1903/1923

Bachelor
Spinster

Tailor
Dressmaker

24
24

Christchurch
St Albans

2 Years
2 Years

Baptist Chapel, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch

03/1452

27 January 1903

Rev. R. S. Gray, Baptist

No	47
Date of Notice	27 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percival Cliff	Alice Priscilla Bader
BDM Match (98%)	Percival Cliff	Alice Priscilla Baker
	💍 1903/1923
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tailor	Dressmaker
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St Albans
Length of Residence	2 Years	2 Years
Marriage Place	Baptist Chapel, Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
Folio	03/1452
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. S. Gray, Baptist

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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What is an Intention to Marry?

The 1854 Marriage Act required Pakeha settlers (and later Maori) to register their intention to marry from 1855. The resulting Notices of intention to marry were sent by the district registrars to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and bound into large volumes, each containing a year of notices. These registers were eventually deposited with Archives New Zealand.

What information does an ItM record?

A typical Intention to Marry notice records:

the bride and groom's full names
occupation of the groom (and sometimes the bride)
their ages
district where the marriage would take place
how long they had resided in the district
Where the marriage would take place (eg, a specific church)
Who would officiate the marriage (eg, a minister)
The date of the notice and also a date when the certificate was issued. Marriages had to take place within 3 months, and usually occurred within a week or so of the certificate date.
If one of the parties was under 21, a parent who consented to their marriage was usually specified

These details can provide clues for genealogical and historical research. Knowing the date and district makes it easier to look for wedding notices in Papers Past, and the amount of time that the parties had resided in a district can offer clues to whether a person was born in NZ, or when they immigrated.

However, finding individual records in the Intentions to Marry registers was typically a slow and manual process, usually requiring an in-person visit to Archives NZ's Wellington office (during limited opening hours) and using a handwritten card catalogue index to look up individual names.

Eight years of the registers had been digitised by Archives NZ prior to 2024, but even these digital versions required the use of a manual index and usually examining several pages to locate specific records.

What is the Intentions to Marry Project?

This project aims to transcribe the New Zealand Intentions to Marry registers (from 1855 to 1925) with the assistance of new technology (AI), making the records freely available and easily searchable.

The ITM records have also been cross-referenced with the registered marriages at DIA Births, Deaths and Marriages, where possible (a small fraction of the recorded intentions to marry did not become a registered marriage).

Currently we have almost all records between 1855 and 1903. More registers are being added almost every week.

The project is led by Luke Howison, a web developer who made the free genealogical research search tool NZ Ancestor Search Helper and Archway-style Collections Search. There are also some wonderful volunteers assisting with digitising the registers.

Can I volunteer to help?

Yes, you can! You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

I am also looking for Wellington-based volunteers to help me digitise more years of the registers. I can provide lighting equipment and a 'clicker' (to trigger your phone's camera).

How is the transcription done?

There are several steps to digitising and transcribing the records:

Digitising the registers (taking clean, straight, high-quality photos)
Processing the digitised pages by straightening, cropping and sharpening the images
Transcribing each page with a combination of AI tools
Matching each ITM with a registered marriage when possible
Human verification of the transcribed information

The main LLM (AI) used are the Google Gemini Pro and Flash models, which have excellent 'Vision' capabilities, and a generous free tier.

Archives NZ has released the register years they have digitised (1865-69, 1872, 1874 and 1880) under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.

The Intention to Marry registers (up to 1925) are more than 100 years old, so their Crown Copyright has expired, putting them in the public domain. This also applies to any 'mechanical reproductions' (eg, pictures or photocopies) of their content without substantial alteration.

The transcribed records on this website are released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal license, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes, while giving credit to the creator (NZ Intentions to Marry Project).